Recording and/or reproducing apparatus and recording apparatus

ABSTRACT

A recording and/or reproducing apparatus includes a microphone, a semiconductor memory, an operating section and a controller. An output signal from the microphone is written in the semiconductor memory and the written signals are read out from the semiconductor memory. The operating section performs input processing for writing a digital signal outputted by an analog/digital converter, reading out the digital signal stored in the semiconductor memory and for erasing the digital signal stored in the semiconductor memory. The control section controls the writing of the microphone output signal in the semiconductor memory based on an input from the operating section and the readout of the digital signal stored in the semiconductor memory. The control section operates so that, if, when the signals written in-the storage section is read out from it, an input for erasure is entered by the operating section, the signal being read out from the storage section is erased when, after reading out the signal from the storage section for a pre-set period, an input for erasure is again entered from the operating section.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates to a recording and/or reproducingapparatus and a recording apparatus. More particularly, it relates to arecording and/or reproducing apparatus and a recording apparatusemploying a semiconductor memory as a recording medium.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] As a sound recording device, a tape recorder, a digital audiotape recorder (DAT) or a device employing a magneto-optical disc, is inwidespread use. If, in these recording devices, recorded audio data, forexample, is erased from the recording medium, the user designates anaddress of desired audio data and presses an erasure button for erasingthe audio data.

[0005] In erasing the pre-set information signal from the recordingmedium, the contents of erasure cannot be confirmed once the erasurebutton is pressed, such that there is a risk of inadvertent erasure ofthe information signal not desired to be erased by the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide arecording and/or reproducing device which resolves the above-mentionedproblems.

[0007] It is another object of the present invention to provide arecording device which resolves the above-mentioned problems.

[0008] According to the present invention, there is provided a recordingand/or reproducing apparatus includes a microphone, a storage section,an operating section and a controller. An output signal from themicrophone is written in the storage section and the written signals areread out from the storage section. The operating section performs inputprocessing for writing a digital signal outputted by an analog/digitalconverter, reading out the digital signal stored in the storage sectionand for erasing the digital signal stored therein. The control sectioncontrols the writing of the microphone output signal in the storagesection based on an input from the operating section and the readout ofthe digital signal stored in the storage section. The control sectionoperates so that, if, when the signals written in the storage section isread out from it, an input for erasure is entered by the operatingsection, the signal being read out from the storage section is erasedwhen, after reading out the signal from the storage section for a presetperiod, an input for erasure is again entered from the operatingsection.

[0009] According to the present invention, there is also provided arecording and/or reproducing apparatus including a microphone, a storagesection, a detection mechanism and a control section. An output signalof the microphone and management data for managing the output signal arewritten in the storage section. The detection mechanism detects that alid for opening/closing the battery housing section has been moved to aposition of opening the battery housing section. The controller controlswriting of the microphone output signal in the storage section. Ondetecting the movement by the detection mechanism of the lid to aposition of opening the battery housing section, the control sectionmanages control for stopping the writing of the microphone output signalin the storage section and for writing the write-inhibited microphoneoutput signal in the storage section.

[0010] According to the present invention, there is also provided arecording and/or reproducing apparatus including a microphone, a storagesection, a detection mechanism and a control section. An output signalof the microphone and management data for managing the output signal arewritten in the storage section. The operating section performs inputprocessing for writing a digital signal outputted by an analog/digitalconverter, reading out the digital signal stored in the storage sectionand for erasing the digital signal stored in the storage section. Theilluminating section illuminates the display section. The controlsection controls the writing of the microphone output signal in thestorage section and readout of the signal stored in the storage sectionbased on an input from the operating section. The control section alsocauses the illuminating section to illuminate the display section basedon an input from the operating section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of an IC recorderembodying the present invention.

[0012]FIG. 2 is a front view showing the structure of an IC recorderembodying the present invention.

[0013]FIG. 3 is a back view showing the structure of an IC recorderembodying the present invention.

[0014]FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of a power sourcecircuit of the IC recorder.

[0015]FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the recording operation of the ICrecorder.

[0016]FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the reproducing operation of the ICrecorder.

[0017]FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the erasure operation of the ICrecorder.

[0018]FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the change of the operating mode ofthe IC recorder.

[0019]FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the control of a back-light of theIC recorder.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] Referring to the drawings, the recording and/or reproducingdevice of the present invention will be explained in detail. Inexplaining the recording and/or reproducing device according to thepresent invention, a recording and/or reproducing employing asemiconductor storage as a recording medium and designed for storing thespeech in the semiconductor storage, referred to herein as an ICrecorder, is taken as an example.

[0021] Referring to FIG. 1, the IC recorder 1 includes a recordingsection 10 for converting an output signal from a microphone 11 intoaudio data for storage in a semiconductor memory 9 and a reproducingsection 20 for reading out the speech data stored in the semiconductormemory 9 for conversion into an audio signal for driving a speaker 24.The IC recorder 1 also includes a controller 30 for controlling forexample the recording section 10, a power source section 50 forsupplying power to for example the controller 30 and an operatingsection 60 for the user to perform various operations.

[0022] Referring to FIG. 1, the recording section 10 includes anamplifier 12 for amplifying an output signal from the microphone 11 andan automatic gain controller (AGC) for adjusting the level of the outputsignal amplified by the amplifier 12 to an appropriate level. Therecording section 10 also includes an encoder 14 for converting anoutput signal of the AGC 13 into audio data and a buffer memory 15 fordelaying the audio data from the encoder 14.

[0023] The microphone 11 converts an input speech into electricalsignals which are then supplied to the amplifier 12. The amplifier 12amplifies the audio signal wich are routed to the AGC 13. The AGC 13amplifies the audio signal amplified by the amplifier 12 to anappropriate level and routes the resulting signal to the encoder 14.

[0024] Since the audio signal exhibits strong correlation, the encoder14 encodes the audio signal with a small data volume by for example anadaptive differential pulse code modulation (ADPCM) for generating audiodata which is supplied to the buffer memory 15.

[0025] The buffer memory 15 has a capacity corresponding to a presetdelay time and delays the audio data supplied from the encoder 14 apre-set time to supply the delayed data to the semiconductor memory 9.The buffer memory 15 is used for preventing recording on the memory 9 ofthe noise generated at the time of switching of a contact of a switchactuated on pressing a pushbutton as later explained.

[0026] The semiconductor memory 9 is comprised of a non-volatilesemiconductor memory, such as an electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (EEPROM) in which the stored contents of the memorydevice are not erased but held even if the driving power source of thememory is turned off. The semiconductor memory 9 stores the audio datasupplied from the buffer memory 15 as well as audio data specifying inwhich area the audio data has been stored. Specifically, thesemiconductor memory 9 has a capacity of for example 16 MBytes such thatit can store 8 minutes of audio data corresponding to the speech of 200to 3400 Hz in a SP mode as later explained while it can store 16 minutesof audio data corresponding to the speech of 200 to 1700 Hz in an LPmode.

[0027] The reproducing section 20 has a decoder 21 and a filter 22 forconverting speech data read out from the semiconductor memory 9 intoso-called PAM signal and an amplifier 23 for amplifying the audio signalfrom the filter 22 for supplying the amplified audio signal to a speaker24, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0028] The decoder 21 is a counterpart of the encoder 14 of therecording section 10 and decodes the audio data read out from thesemiconductor memory 9, that is the audio data encoded in accordancewith the ADPCM system, for generating so-called PAM signal. The filter22 removes high-frequency components higher than the audio range fromthe PAM signal to output an audio signal. The amplifier 23 amplifies theaudio signal supplied from the decoder 21 for driving the speaker 24. Inthis manner, the recorded speech is outputted from the speaker 24.

[0029] Referring to FIG. 1, the controller 30 includes a ROM 31 havingstored therein a program for controlling the operation of the ICrecorder 1, and a micro-computer (CPU) 32 for executing the programstored in the ROM 31 for controlling the semiconductor memory 9 or therecording section 10. The controller 30 also includes a timer 33 formeasuring the time and a random access memory (RAM) 34 for temporarilystoring time or the results of program execution.

[0030] The controller 30 is supplied with the signal from a variety ofpushbuttons 61 of the operating section 60. If any one of pluralpushbuttons 61 is pressed, the program associated with the pushbutton 61is read out from the ROM 31 and executed for controlling various parts.If for example a recording start button 61 k is pressed, the CPU 32reads out and executes the program associated with the recording fromthe ROM 31 for actuating the amplifier 12, AGC 13 or the encoder 14 forperforming control such that audio data delayed a pre-set time by thebuffer memory 15 will be written and stored in a vacant area of thesemiconductor memory 9 for prohibiting recording of the noise generatedon actuation of the pushbutton 61. The controller 30 controls thewriting and readout of audio data on or from the semiconductor memory 9such that it performs control of affixing index numbers-for identifying99 audio data in two files A and B of the semiconductor memory 9 andwriting the audio data and the index numbers and reading out the audiodata in accordance with the index numbers. A quartz oscillator 35 foractuating the timer 33 is connected to the semiconductor memory 9 forreading out the audio data recorded on the semiconductor memory 9 atpre-set time. A display panel 40 is also connected to the controller 30such that the CPU 32 displays the operating state or the operatingsequence for the IC recorder 1 on the display section 40. The displaysection 40 includes a liquid display panel 41 of low power consumptionand a back-light 42 for illuminating the liquid display panel 41. If,for example, a menu/feed button 61 a of the operating section 60 ispressed, the CPU 60 sequentially displays the date and time on thedisplay section 40 so that the user can check the display for settingthe timer 33. The operation of the back-light 42 will be explainedsubsequently.

[0031] If the state of pressing of a lid opening detection switch 55 isnullified during the recording operation, the CPU 32 reads out andexecutes the program of terminating the recording operation or thereproducing operation and the program of writing the TOC informationfrom the RPM 31 for terminating the operation of recording orreproduction and for simultaneously storing the management informationspecifying in which area the written audio data has been recorded. Ifthe pressed state of the lid opening detection switch 55 is nullified,the CPU 32 reads out from the ROM 31 the program of switching from theusual power consumption mode to the low power consumption mode as laterexplained and executes the read-out program for effecting mode switchingprocessing.

[0032] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the operating section 60 is explainedin detail. The IC recorder 1 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is portable and hasan outer casing of the size of the palm within which is mounted aprinted circuit board carrying electrical circuits such as theabove-mentioned recording section 10 and the reproducing section 20. TheIC recorder 1 is shaped so as to be held easily with left hand so thatthe recorder can be used in conjunction with the usual writing operationwith the right hand. On the outer casing 1 a are mounted pluralpushbuttons 61 constituting the operating section 60. On the outercasing 1 a is mounted a hand strap used for transportation of the ICrecorder 1 as shown in FIG. 2.

[0033] The operating section 60 includes a menu-feed button 61 a, aplayback button 61 b for starting the reproduction and a return/feedbutton 61 c for setting the index numbers. The operating section 60 alsoincludes a file switching button 61 d for file switching, a stop button61 f for stopping the recording and an SP/LP button 61 f for switchingbetween the SP mode and the LP mode. The operating section 60 alsoincludes a light button 61 g for lighting the back-light 42, a displaybutton 61 h and an index button 61 i for setting the index. Theoperating section 60 ultimately includes an erasure button 61 i forerasing the audio data stored in the semiconductor memory 9 and arecording start button 61 k for starting the recording.

[0034] Of these operating buttons, the playback button 61 b and thereturn/feed button 61 c, used often, are mounted on a lateral side of acut-out formed on an upper left portion of the outer casing 1 a, asshown in FIG. 2, for permitting facilitated operation of these buttonswith the left thumb finger. The recording start button 61 k, also usedoften, is constituted by a pushbutton of a larger size mounted on themajor surface of the outer casing 1 a for permitting facilitatedoperation of these buttons with the left thumb finger.

[0035] The operating section 60 also has a holding switch 62, arecording and/or reproducing lamp 63 indicating that recording orreproduction is going on, a volume 64 for adjusting the loudness of thereproduced sound and an earphone jack 65. The recording and/orreproducing lamp 63 is mounted on the major surface of the outer casing1 a for facilitating visual inspection during use. The holding switch62, volume 64 and the earphone jack 65, used less often, are mounted onthe lateral side of the outer casing 1 a.

[0036] On the major surface of the outer casing 1 a are mounted theabove-mentioned microphone 11, speaker 24 and so forth. For reducing thesize of the IC recorder 1 for improving portability of the IC-recorder1, the microphone 11 and the recording start button 61 k are mountedclose to each other.

[0037] The power source section 50 is now explained. Referring to FIG.4, the power source section 50 includes a battery 51, a DC/DC converter52 for raising the output voltage of the battery 51 and a voltagedetection circuit 53 for detecting the output voltage of the battery 51.The power source section 50 also includes a capacitor 54 charged by theoutput voltage of the DC/Dc converter 52 and a lid opening detectionswitch 55 for detecting the opening of the battery holding spacing.

[0038] The IC recorder 1 is of the size of a palm for facility intransportation, as described above. This battery 51, a sole ‘tan-4’ drycell for reducing the size of the device, is housed in a battery housingspacing 71 of a size to hold the ‘tan-4’ dry cell formed in the backsurface of the outer casing 1 a, as shown in FIG. 3. The battery housingspacing 71 is closed by a lid 72. In the battery housing spacing 71 aremounted connection pieces 73 a, 73 b associated with the plus and minussides of the battery 51, respectively. When the battery 51 is housed inthe battery housing spacing, the connection pieces 73 a, 73 b areconnected to the battery 51 so that the current is supplied to thecircuitry of the IC recorder 1.

[0039] The DC/DC converter 52 raises the output voltage of the battery51, that is 1.5V, to a voltage necessary for operating the circuitry ofthe amplifiers 12, 23 or the CPU 32 for supplying the current of thevoltage to the circuitry of the IC recorder 1.

[0040] The voltage detection circuit 53 detects the output voltage ofthe battery 51 for stopping the operation of the DC/DC converter 52 whenthe output voltage of the battery 51 is equal to for example 50 V. Thus,the power stored in the battery 51 is not consumed after its output isequal to the pre-set value of for example 0.8 V. That is, even if theDC/DC converter 52 is used, the voltage of the battery 51 can beprevented from being thereby suddenly lowered, thus preventing liquidleakage from occurrence.

[0041] The capacitor 54 is a so-called back-up capacitor connectedbetween the ground and a power source line to which are connected onlythe DC/DC converter 52 and the timer 33 of the controller 30. That is,if the DC/DC converter 52 is in operation, that is if the mode is theusual power consumption mode, the device is operated by the currentsupplied from the DC/DC converter 52, whereas, if the DC/DC converter 52is halted as when the output voltage of the battery 51 is lowered orwhen the battery 51 is taken out for battery exchange, that is if themode is the low power consumption mode, the device is operated by thecurrent from the capacitor 52. The possible back-up time of thecapacitor 54 is for example approximately 3 minutes.

[0042] The lid-opening detection switch 55 is used for detecting theopened state of the lid 72. Referring to FIG. 3, the switch 55 isprovided laterally of the battery housing spacing 71. If the lid 72 isclosed, the switch can be pressed by a protrusion 74 provided on the lid72. If the user moves the lid 72 n a direction of opening the spacing 71relative to the outer casing 1 a, the thrust state by the protrusion 74is nullified, so that a signal specifying the opened state of the lid 72is furnished to the controller 30.

[0043] More specifically, the protrusion 74 is formed on one end of thelid and retainers, not shown, are formed on left and right lateral sidesof the lid 72. On the back side of the outer casing 1 a is formed ashoulder 75 for surrounding the battery housing spacing 71. On the leftand right lateral sides of the shoulder 75 are formed retentionrecesses, not shown. By fitting the retainers on the left and rightlateral sides of the shoulder 75 in the retention recesses in the leftand right lateral sides of the shoulder 75, the lid 72 is movablymounted on the outer casing 1 a for opening or closing the spacing 71.

[0044] The opening/closure of the lid 72 is achieved by the user slidingthe retainers along the retention recesses. If the lid 72 remainsclosed, the lid opening detection switch 55 is in the pushed-in state bythe protrusion 74, such that, when the lid 72 is slid and opened, thethrust state of the switch by the protrusion 74 is nullified. In thisnullified state, a signal specifying the opened state of the lid 72 issupplied to the controller 30.

[0045] Referring to-FIG. 5, the sequence of operations for recording thespeech in the above-described IC recorder 1 is as follows: First, atstep ST1, the SP/LP button 61 f is pressed for selecting whether therecording system is in the LP mode or in the SP mode. The indications‘SP’ or ‘LP’ appear on the liquid display panel 41. Then, at step ST2,the file switching button 61 d is pressed for selecting the file ‘A’ or‘B’ provided in the semiconductor memory 9. The selected file name isdisplayed on the liquid display panel 41.

[0046] If then the recording start button 61 k is pressed at step ST3,the recording/reproducing lamp 63 is lighted and the recording state isinitiated. If the user speaks over the microphone 11, audio data iswritten in a specified area of the semiconductor memory 9. The stopbutton 61 e is pressed at step ST4 for extinguishing therecording/reproducing lamp 63 for nullifying the recording state. Atthis time, not only the audio data but also the TOC information, filenumber and the recorded speech data are recorded in the semiconductormemory 9. If the user desires to record additional audio data, the audiodata is recorded in the area similar to that of the initially set modeand file with the index number next to the initially accorded indexnumber provided that the recording of such additional data is directlyafter recording of the initial speech data. That is, the mode selectionand file selection operations of the steps ST1 and ST2 can be omitted.

[0047] Referring to FIG. 6, the sequence of operations for reproducingthe recorded speech data is as follows: First, at step ST11, the fileswitching button 61 d is pressed. This selects the file ‘A’ or ‘B’provided on the semiconductor memory 9 and the selected file isdisplayed on the liquid display panel 41. At step ST12, the return/feedbutton 61 c is pressed for selecting the desired index number recordedon the semiconductor memory 9. At step ST13, the playback button 61 band the recording/reproducing lamp 63 are lighted and the audio datadesired by the user is reproduced. If the reproducing operation by theIC recorder 1 is to be stopped, the stop button 61 e is pressed to stopthe reproducing operation, with the recording/reproducing lamp 63 beingturned off. If desired to proceed or revert to the next item, thereturn/feed button 61 c is pressed, while the reproducing or recordingoperation is not going on, in order to select and reproduce the next orprevious index number.

[0048] Referring to FIG. 7, the sequence of operations for erasing therecorded audio data from the semiconductor memory 9 is as follows; If,at step ST21, the erasure button 61 j is pressed, with the audio databeing reproduced as shown in FIG. 6, processing transfers to step ST22where the CPU 32 judges whether or not audio data selected by the useris being reproduced. If the erasure button 61 j is not pressed,processing transfers to step ST31 to set a stand-by mode correspondingto the absence of the recording/reproducing operations. If, at stepST22, the audio data is being reproduced, processing transfers to stepST23 to set the erasure confirming mode. In this erasure confirmingmode, an indication ‘ERASE’ appears on the liquid display panel 41 inorder for the user to recognize that the mode is the erasure confirmingmode.

[0049] If the erasure confirming mode is set at step ST23, it is judgedat step ST24 by the CPU 32 whether or not an operating button 61 otherthan the erasure button 61 j has been pressed. If, in this erasureconfirming mode state, the stop button 61 e is pressed, processingtransfers to step ST31 to set the stand-by state. If the operatingbuttons other than the stop button 61 e, such as the reproducing button61 k or the recording start button 61 k, are pressed, processingtransfers similarly to step ST31 to set the stand-by mode. With thepresent IC recorder 1, if the user has pressed the operating button 61other than the stop button 61 e in the erasure confirming mode by error,the mode is set to the stand-by mode of step ST31 to prevent inadvertenterasure of the audio data.

[0050] If the operating button 61 has not been pressed at step ST24,processing transfers to step ST25 for judging whether or not the audiodata specified by the user and currently being reproduced continues for10 seconds or longer. If the reproduced data continues for shorter than10 seconds, processing transfers to step ST26 where the audio data inits entirety is reproduced. If the audio data has a duration less than10 seconds, processing transfers to step ST27 where the leading 5 secondportion and the trailing 5 second portion of the audio data beingreproduced are reproduced. By reproducing the audio data to be erased inits entirety at step ST26 and by reproducing the beginning 5 secondportion and the trailing 5 second portion of the audio data at stepST27, the user can confirm the audio data to be erased.

[0051] If, as the audio data is being reproduced at steps ST26 or ST27,the erasure button 61 j is again pressed at step ST28, processingtransfers to step ST29 where the CPU 32 causes the erasure programstored in the RAM 34 to be executed for erasing the pre-set audio datarecorded in the semiconductor memory 9. If, when four items of speechdata are recorded in the file ‘A’ and accorded the index numbers of from1 to 4, the audio data corresponding to the index number 3 is erased,the audio data corresponding to the index number of 4 is newly accordedthe index number ‘3’. That is, if plural items of audio data areaccorded with index numbers, and an item disposed in the midst of theplural audio data, the index numbers are padded to compensate forerasure.

[0052] If the audio data is erased, processing transfers to step ST31 toset the stand-by mode. If, at step ST28, the erasure button 61 j has notbeen pressed, processing transfers to step ST30 for again reproducingthe audio data in order for the CPU 32 to judge whether or not thenumber of times of playback has exceeded 10. If the audio data has notbeen reproduced by more than ten times, processing reverts to ST3 tomaintain the erasure confirming mode. If, at step ST10, the audio datahas been reproduced by more than ten times, processing transfers to stepST11 to set the stand-by mode.

[0053] The above description has been directed to erasure of audio dataitems one-by-one from the semiconductor memory 9. If desired to erasethe recorded audio data in its entirety, the file switching button 61 dis selected for selecting the file ‘A’ or ‘B’ and subsequently both theerasure button 61 j and the stop button 61 e are pressed simultaneously.Thus, the IC recorder 1 performs the complex operation of pressing theerasure button 61 j and the stop button 61 e simultaneously for evadinginadvertent erasure of the entire audio data recorded in the file ‘A’ or‘B’.

[0054] With the above-described IC recorder 1, since the audio datadesired by the user to erase from the semiconductor memory 9 isreproduced after the erasure button 61 j is pressed to set the erasureconfirming mode, it becomes possible to prevent inadvertent erasure ofall audio data recorded in the file ‘A’ or ‘B’. If the if the audio datato be erased continues for more than 10 seconds, only the beginning5-second portion and the trailing 5 second portion of the audio data asrequired for confirming the audio data are reproduced, it becomespossible to erase the audio data easily without the audio data beingreproduced for more than the required time. Also, the IC recorder 1 canproceed from the erasure confirming mode to the standby mode even if therecording start button 61 k or the playback button 61 b are pressed inaddition to the stop button 61 e with the erasure confirming mode, thuspreventing mistaken erasure of audio data.

[0055] If the IC recorder 1 is dropped by careless handling by the userduring recording such that the lid 72 is moved under the shock ofdescent in a direction of opening the spacing 71 to dismount the battery51, the lid opening detection switch 55 detects such opening of the lid72 to supply the corresponding detection signal to the controller 30. Ifa signal specifying the opening of the lid 72 is sent to the controller30 of the IC recorder 1, the controller 30 causes the recordingoperation to be terminated while causing the TOC information to bewritten for specifying in which area the written audio data has beenstored. Thus, with the present IC recorder 1, if the current supply fromthe battery 51 suddenly ceases during recording by sone reason or other,audio data can be read out based on the written TOC information toreproduce the recorded speech.

[0056] If the signal specifying the opening of the lid 72 is supplied tothe IC recorder 1, the mode is switched from the usual power consumptionmode to the low power consumption mode such as after terminationprocessing of the recording operation. The low power consumption modemeans the power mode in which the recording or reproducing operationceases and no indication is made on the liquid display panel 41 withonly the timer 33 operating by the power supplied by the capacitor 54only for time counting.

[0057] The power mode selection for the IC recorder 1 is selected asshown in FIG. 8. that is, it is first checked at step 41 whether or notthe lid 72 of the battery housing spacing 71 is opened. If the lid 72 isopened, it is checked at step 42 whether or not the low powerconsumption mode is set. If the low power consumption mode is not set,that is if the mode is the usual power consumption mode, it is checkedat step 43 whether or not the operation such as recording orreproduction is going on. If the operation such as recording orreproduction is going on, the operation end program is read out from ROM31 to carry out the operation end processing. Simultaneously with theoperation end processing, the TOC information writing program is readout from the ROM 31 to execute the TOC information writing at step 44.When these processing operations come to a close, the mode is switchedfrom the usual power consumption mode the low power consumption mode atstep 45. If the recording or reproducing operation is not going on atstep 3, the processing at step 3 is not made but the mode is immediatelyswitched from the usual power consumption mode to the low powerconsumption mode.

[0058] With the IC recorder 1, the mode is switched in this manner tothe low power consumption mode, so that, if the battery 51 is dismountedby error and hence current supply from the battery ceases suddenly, thepower supply from the capacitor 54 is sustained, with the result thattime counting by the timer 33 can be continued by the power suppliedfrom the capacitor 54 to cause no disorder in time counting. The normalfunction can be restored by mounting the battery 51 again in positionwithin three minutes within which the back-up power of the capacitor 54is sustained.

[0059] With the IC recorder 1, if the battery 51 is dismounted by errorduring recording to interrupt recording, the battery 51 can again beloaded in position and the lid 72 of the battery housing spacing 71closed. At this time, the signal from the lid opening detection switch55 ceases. However, programming can be made so that the index numbercorresponding to the recorded contents is automatically selected at thistime for reproducing the audio data directly previous to the stop ofrecording. The recorded data is not limited to audio data but may alsobe dynamic data such as moving picture data.

[0060] On the liquid display panel 41 of the IC recorder 1, data andtime are displayed based on an output of the timer 33. For setting thisfunction, the menu/feed button 61 a is first pressed. This displays thedata on the liquid display panel 41 to set the date setting mode. In theIC recorder 1, date can be set by pressing the return/feed button 61 c.If in this state the menu/feed button 61 a is pressed, the IC recorder 1is switched to the time setting mode for displaying the time on theliquid display panel 41. The return/feed button 61 c can be pressed forsetting time in the IC recorder 1. Finally, the time setting mode isterminated by pressing the stop button 61 e.

[0061] The IC recorder 1 can switch the display contents of audio datacorresponding to the index number designated in the liquid crystaldisplay panel 41. When the audio data is recorded in the semiconductormemory 9, the IC recorder 1 simultaneously records the recording timeand date and the recording time. When the display button 61 h ispressed, the program of changing the display contents displayed on theliquid crystal display panel 41 of the IC recorder 1 is read out fromthe ROM 31 and executed to change the display contents of the liquidcrystal display panel 41. Specifically, by pressing the display button61 h, the recording date, recording time and residual recordable timeare sequentially displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 41.

[0062] If the user manipulates the IC recorder 1 in a dark environment,the back-light 42 can be lighted on the display unit 40. Referring toFIG. 9, if the light button 61 g is pressed, the CPU 32 of the ICrecorder 1 proceeds to step ST51 to check whether or not the lightbutton 61 g has been pressed. If the light button 61 g has been pressed,processing transfers to step ST52 and, if otherwise, processingtransfers to step ST56. At step ST52, the CPU 32 resets the timer 33 tostart time counting. If the timer 33 is reset, processing transfers tostep ST53 to judge whether or not the back-light 42 has been turned onfor 10 seconds. Within 10 seconds since lighting of the back-light 42,the back-light 42 continues to be lighted, whereas, if the time of 10seconds has lapsed, the back-light 42 is turned off at step ST55.

[0063] If at step ST54 the back-light 42 continues to be lighted, theCPU 32 reverts to step ST51 to judge whether or not the light-button 61g has been pressed. If the CPU 32 finds that the light-button 61 g hasnot been pressed, processing transfers to step ST56. At step ST56, theCPU 32 judges whether or not any one of the pushbuttons 61 of the timer33 has been pressed with the back-light 42 in the lighted state. If, atstep ST57, the CPU 32 finds that any one of the pushbuttons 61 of thetimer 33 has been pressed, with the back-light 42 in the lighted state,the CPU 32 again resets the timer 33 to start time counting. If none ofthe pushbuttons 61 has been pressed, processing again reverts to stepST53. At step ST53, it is judged whether or not the back-light 42 hasbeen turned on for 10 seconds as counted by the timer 33. Within 10seconds as from lighting, the lighted state is maintained, whereas, ifthe time of 10 seconds has elapsed, the back-light 42 is turned off atstep ST5.

[0064] In the foregoing decryption, it is assumed that the timer 33 isreset if all of the pushbuttons 61 have been pressed. It is of coursepossible to limit the pushbuttons to those required to be operated asthe user checks the display contents of the liquid crystal display panel41, such as those for reproducing or recording operations. Since thetimer 33 is not reset in this case on pressing the irrelevantpushbuttons 61, the back-light 42 is turned off in 10 seconds thuspreventing wasteful power consumption.

[0065] With the IC recorder 1, if pre-set pushbuttons 61 are pressedduring lighting of the back-light 42, the timer 33 is reset. Thus, ifthe user manipulates as the or she checks the liquid crystal displaypanel 41 in the dark, the back-light 42 is always in the lighted state.Since the timer of the IC recorder 1 is reset every 10 seconds, itbecomes possible to prevent the back-light 42 from continuing to belighted inadvertently.

[0066] Although the foregoing description has been made in connectionwith the IC recorder according to the present invention, the presentinvention can naturally be applied to a small-sized electronicequipments having excellent portability, such as a recording and/orreproducing apparatus having a disc cartridge as a recording mediumbecause the small-sized electronic equipments can be carried easily andhence manipulated frequently by the user in the dark. The recorded datais not limited to audio data but may also be dynamic data, such asmoving picture data.

What is claimed is:
 1. A recording and/or reproducing apparatuscomprising: a microphone; a storage section in which an output signal ofthe microphone is written and from which written signals are read out;an input operating section for writing the output signal of themicrophone in said storage section, for reading out signals stored insaid storage section and for erasing the signals stored in the storagesection; and a control section for controlling the writing of the outputsignal of the microphone in said storage section based on an input fromsaid operating section and for controlling readout of the signals storedin said storage section; said control section operating so that, if,when the signals written in said storage section is read out therefrom,an input for erasure is entered by said operating section, the signalbeing read out from said storage section is erased when, after readingout the signal from the storage section for a pre-set period, an inputfor erasure is again entered from said operating section.
 2. Therecording and/or reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 whereinsaid control section operates so that, if a signal being read out fromthe storage section is shorter than a pre-set value, the signal beingread out from said storage section is read out in its entirety from saidstorage section and so that, if subsequently an input for erasure isagain entered from the operating section, the digital signal being readout from the storage section is eased from the storage section.
 3. Therecording and/or reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 2 whereinsaid control section operates so that if, when the signals written insaid storage section is read out therefrom, an input for erasure isentered by said operating section, the digital signal read out from saidstorage section is read out a pre-set number of times on end.
 4. Therecording and/or reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 whereinsaid control section operates so that, if the signal being read out fromsaid storage section is longer than a pre-set value, a leading portionand a trailing portion of the signal read out from said storage sectionare read out from said storage section and so that, if subsequently aninput for erasure is again entered from said operating section, thedigital signal being read out from said storage section is erasedtherefrom.
 5. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus as claimed inclaim 4 wherein said control section operates so that if, when thesignals written in said storage section is read out therefrom, an inputfor erasure is entered by said operating section, the digital signalread out from said storage section is read out a pre-set number of timeson end.
 6. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus as claimed inclaim 1 wherein said control section operates so that if, when thesignals written in said storage section is read out, an input forerasure is entered by said operating section, the erasure operation isdiscontinued if, after the digital signal read out from the storagesection is read out for a pre-set time, an input other than an input forerasure is entered by said operating section.
 7. The recording and/orreproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:detection mechanism for detecting whether or not the power source isbeing supplied in a regular state; said control section operating sothat, if, based on an output of the detection mechanism, the powersource is judged to be not supplied in a regular state, signal readoutfrom said storage section or writing of an output signal of themicrophone in said storage Section is-terminated.
 8. The recordingand/or reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein saiddetection mechanism includes a lid and a detection switch for detectingthat said lid has opened said battery storage section; said controlsection operating so that, if the lid is detected by said detectionswitch to have opened said battery storage section, the writingoperation of writing the output signal of the microphone to said storagesection is stopped.
 9. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus asclaimed in claim 8 wherein said control section operates so that writingof the microphone output signal to said storage section is stopped andso that management data corresponding to the microphone output signalwritten in said storage section is written in said storage section. 10.The recording and/or reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 8 furthercomprising: an operation holding circuit for maintaining the operationof the device for a pre-set time if the opening of the battery housingsection by said lid is detected by said detection switch.
 11. Therecording and/or reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 10 whereinsaid operation holding circuit includes a capacitor charged by saidbattery.
 12. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus as claimed inclaim 10 further comprising: a timer for maintaining the operation for apre-set time if the opening of the battery housing section by said lidis detected by said detection switch.
 13. The recording and/orreproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising: adisplay section and an illumination section for illuminating saiddisplay section based on an input from said operating section; saidcontrol section operating for lighting said illuminating section for apre-set time based on an input from said operating section forilluminating said illuminating section.
 14. The recording and/orreproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 13 wherein said controlsection includes a timer started based on an input from said operatingsection for initiating measurement of the lighting time of theilluminating section.
 15. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus asclaimed in claim 14 wherein, if an input is again entered duringmeasurement for a pre-set time, said timer re-measures the lighting timeof the illuminating section as from the time said input is againentered.
 16. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus as claimed inclaim 1 further comprising: an analog/digital converter for convertingan output signal of the microphone into a digital signal and adigital/analog converter for converting the digital signal read out fromthe semiconductor memory into an analog signal.
 17. The recording and/orreproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said storage sectionis a semiconductor memory.
 18. A recording apparatus comprising: amicrophone; a storage section for writing an output signal andmanagement data for managing said output signal; a detection mechanismfor detecting whether or not the power source is being supplied in aregular state; and a controller for controlling the writing of an outputsignal of the microphone in said storage section; said control sectiondiscontinuing writing of the microphone output signal and writing themanagement data for the microphone output signal to said storage sectionif said detection mechanism finds that the power source is not beingsupplied in a regular state.
 19. The recording apparatus as claimed inclaim 18 wherein said detection mechanism includes a lid foropening/closing a battery housing section housing a battery and adetection switch detecting the opening of the battery storage section bysaid lid; said control section discontinuing the operation of writingthe microphone output signal to said storage section if said detectionswitch detects the opening of said battery housing section by said lid.20. The recording apparatus as claimed in claim 18 further comprising:an operation holding circuit for maintaining the operation of the devicefor a pre-set time if said detection mechanism detects the opening ofsaid battery housing section by said lid.
 21. The recording apparatus asclaimed in claim 18 wherein said operation holding circuit includes acapacitor charged by a battery housed in said battery housing section.22. The recording apparatus as claimed in claim 20 further comprising: atimepiece mechanism for maintaining the operation for a pre-set time ifthe opening of the battery holding section by said lid is detected bysaid operation holding circuit.
 23. The recording apparatus as claimedin claim 18 wherein said storage section is a semiconductor memory. 24.A recording and/or reproducing apparatus comprising: a microphone; astorage section in which an output signal of the microphone is writtenand from which written signals are read out; an input operating sectionfor writing the output signal of the microphone in said storage section,for reading out signals stored in said storage section and for erasingthe signals stored in the storage section; a display section fordisplaying the information corresponding to a signal stored in saidstorage section; an illuminating section for illuminating said displaysection; and a control section for controlling the writing of the outputsignal of the microphone in said storage section based on an input fromsaid operating section and for controlling readout of the signals storedin said storage section; said control section displaying the informationcorresponding to the signal stored in said storage section in saiddisplay section; said control section causing said illuminating sectionto illuminate said display section for a pre-set time based on an inputfrom said operating section.
 25. The recording and/or reproducingapparatus as claimed in claim 24 wherein said control section includes atimer started based on an input from said operating section forinitiating measurement of the lighting time of the illuminating section.26. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 25wherein, if an input is again entered during measurement for a pre-settime, said timer re-measures the lighting time of the illuminatingsection as from the time said input is again entered.
 27. The recordingand/or reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 24 wherein said storagesection is a semiconductor memory.